Ryan Hall, Andrew Kozan lead Visit Knoxville Open after Round 1

Charting the co-leaders (stats entering week)

Andrew Kozan (T1/-7)

• Cards a bogey-free 7-under 64, marking his lowest round of the 2025 season (previous: 3-under 67/118 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro/R1)
• Converted his only other 18-hole lead/co-lead into a victory at the 2022 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health
• Owns two made cuts in six starts this season, including a T21 finish at last week’s AdventHealth Championship, earning him a spot in this week’s event
• Logged two made two cuts in three previous starts at the Visit Knoxville Open, including one top-10 finish (T10/2023)
• Made 22 starts during the 2024 season with nine made cuts and two top-25s, finishing No. 126 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Previously finished No. 94 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• As a rookie, finished No. 38 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Played four seasons at Auburn University (2017-21), garnering All-Southeastern Conference Second Team and All-America Scholar laurels in 2019-20 and 2020-21

Ryan Hall (T1/-7)

• Made birdie on three of his first four holes (Nos. 10, 12, 13) en route to a bogey-free 7-under 64
• Second first-round lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career (2024 Utah Championship/finished T72)
• Finished T16 in only other previous start at the Visit Knoxville Open (2023)
• Made his first cut of the season at last week’s AdventHealth Championship in what was his fourth start of the year (finished T61)
• Finished No. 110 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, logging eight made cuts in 18 starts with three top-25 finishes (best: T13/Magnit Championship)
• Earned conditional membership for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season via Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry after advancing through First Stage and Second Stage
• Played four seasons at the University of South Carolina (2018-22), where he was named a PING First Team All-American as a junior (2021) and owns the lowest scoring average in program history (70.66)
• Knoxville, Tennessee native who is competing via a sponsor exemption this week

Additional notes

• First-year member Seungtaek Lee (T3/-6), who entered this week No. 7 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Points List, posts a bogey-free 6-under 65 and holds the best 18-hole position of his career on Tour (previous best: T22/LECOM Suncoast Classic; Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard).
• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Zecheng Dou (T3/-6) stands inside the top five through 18 holes for the first time this season (previous best: T12/Astara Golf Championship/T39).
• Sudarshan Yellamaraju (T3/-6), who won the 2025 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, ties his lowest opening round of the year with a bogey-free 6-under 65 (6-under 65/Veritex Bank Championship).
• Sweden’s Pontus Nyholm (T3/-6), who has made the cut in all three previous starts at the Visit Knoxville Open, stands inside the top 10 after the first round for the second time this season (T7/Veritex Bank Championship/finished T29).
• Two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Anders Albertson (T7/-5), who won the 2022 Visit Knoxville Open, cards an opening round 5-under 66.
• S.H. Kim (T10/-4), winner of last week’s AdventHealth Championship, holes six birdies (Nos. 3, 5, 7, 13, 15, 18) against two bogeys (Nos. 9, 16) en route to a 4-under 67.
• Conditional member Kyle Cottam (T22/-3), who plays from Knoxville, Tennessee, leads the eight open qualifiers through the first round.